‘Not fair’: Ninnekah school board faces settlement criticism

NINNEKAH, Okla. ( KFOR ) — Tension aimed at Ninnekah Public School board members boiled over at a Monday night meeting over a settlement that will impact property owners.

While not on the agenda, residents turned out by the dozens to discuss a $7.5 million dollar settlement the district announced a judge had ordered last month over a years long case.

The settlement stems from a civil case pertaining to sexual assault victims of former Ninnekah Public Schools girls basketball coach Ronald Akins.

Many people in attendance on Monday were concerned about how the settlement will be paid.

“You never should have hired this man,” said one resident.

News 4 was told that $1 million is to be paid through insurance and $500,000 would come from the school’s general fund which, the district confirmed would be a majority of their more than $800,000 fund.

“That’s what we felt like we could justify and still operate,” said Board President Brock Perryman on Monday.

The rest would likely come from property owners which could cost somewhere around $1,000 per property owner every year for three years.

The county assessor told News 4 that there are 2,235 property owners within the district. So, if they broke that up within the $6,000,000 left over then it could amount to $900 plus interest.

“It’s tough, I lost sleep over it,” said Perryman. “Even though it’s going to be tough on the community. It’s tough for three years.”

Many residents in attendance argued that there had to be a better way, trying to emphasize the impact the hike would have on their lives.

“Most of us property owners think this is a terrible idea,” said resident Kirk Castleberry.

Others also stressed how monumental settlements like these can be on tiny communities.

“People that are on fixed incomes cannot afford this,” said one resident. “We don’t want to lose our properties or our homes or our farms because of this.”

While there was some acknowledgment from board members that the settlement “isn’t right” or “isn’t fair,” those in attendance pressed them do more.

“We can’t change the past, but we can change the future,” said resident Alva Charleson.

Board members were asked to consider updating the community in a separate future meeting about alternative methods to avoid harming the entire community, but they stopped short of agreeing.

“We will look into some other things and see if there are any other options,” said Perryman.

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